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MISSION STATEMENTOur mission is to educate the public about the problems with pesticides, how they affect the wildlife food web and our total environment, and to offer viable solutions. Pesticides are in the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat. The overall health of our children, pets, wildlife and environment is our goal.

Thank you to our good friends Karma Dealers who wrote and sang this song for us!Rat Rap – Awesome video on why no one should use rat poison. Thank you Stephanie Green and FriendsA one minute film by Stephanie Green demonstrating the dangers and potential causes of rodent poison use in Oak Park, CA

P-41’s thin body was found on Oct. 4, 2017 several days after a wildfire burned part of the Verdugo Mountains area where he had made his home. Six compounds of anticoagulant rodenticides—rat poisons—were in his liver: brodifacoum, bromadiolone, chlorophacinone, difethialone, diphacinone and difenacoum

Owl family near Chatsworth Nature Preserve. Baby owls are bleeding. All three were later found on the ground dead.

Mountain Lion P-22, The Heroic Griffith Park Mountain Lion

P-22 had been featured in National Geographic Magazine.ClickHEREfor a Los Angeles CBS news video on P-22.A National Public Radio storyhere.The National Park Service press release detailing how1st generation anticoagulant rodent poisonswere the culprit ishere. The 2nd generation anticoagulants are the only ones recently banned for consumer use, but this is an indication that the 1st generation anticoagulants are also doing tremendous harm.

CITY OF MALIBU RESOLUTION OPPOSING RODENT POISONS

July 8, 2013

“The City Council urges businesses in Malibu to no longer use or sell anticoagulant rodenticides, urges all property owners to cease purchasing or using anticoagulant rodenticides on their properties in Malibu and commits the City of Malibu to not use anticoagulant rodenticides as part of its maintenance program for City-owned parks and facilities.”

How rodent poisons spread through the ecosystem, poisoning the wildlife

Malibu is adjacent to thousands of acres of National, State, County and City Parks and other preserved natural land. Modern supertoxic rodent poisons are spreading throughout the ecosystem causing massive exposure, disease, and death beyond the intended targets. Our goal is to have all the communities surrounding our mountains taking strong stands against the poisoning that is now occurring.

Scientific studies tell us that rodent poisons are a leading cause of death among carnivores. Rodent poisons kill the targeted species, but non-targeted species as well. The animals in the food chain consuming the poisoned rodents include – Golden Eagles, Great-horned Owls, Barn Owls, Hawks, Kestrels, Turkey Vultures, Black bears, Pigs, Fishers, Foxes, Badgers, Snakes, Skunks, Raccoons, Bobcats, Coyotes, Mountain Lions, among others.• Clickhereto watch (and share) a simple and effective 2 minute video by Steve Byerly of the Ventura County Star describing how the poisons go up the food chain.• Clickhereto watch a 14 minute video by Dr. Seth Riley, Wildlife Ecologist of the Santa Monica Mountains National Park Service and adjunct professor at UCLA. It is an excellent introduction to the science of what is happening.• Words of wisdom from Duane Tom, Chief Veterinarian at the California Wildlife Center in Malibu – On Common Ground: Rodenticides, an unnecessary poison Bottom line: “There is no good long-term reason for using any form of rodenticide. By controlling their populations through natural means, we can help preserve the natural ecosystem health of all wildlife that lives around us.”

These are animals that we rely on to do our natural rodent control, and we are poisoning them. By killing owls and hawks, we are removing nature’s own rodent control system. A rodent dying from rodent poisoning is easy prey. Eating the poisoned rodents causes their consumers to bleed uncontrollably internally and die slow and agonizing deaths. The weakened immune system produces extreme emaciation, dehydration, and mange that can take weeks to kill the animal.

There are extensive studies with overwhelming evidence of the carnage that rodent poisons have been causing nationwide and in our own surrounding Santa Monica Mountains. Here are some examples. Numbers in “[ ]” refer to documents in the Section “Technical and Academic Articles” below.

Coyotes

– 83% of coyotes in the Santa Monica Mountains were exposed to rodent poisons [4].

Bobcats

– 92% of bobcats tested in the Los Angeles area have been exposed to rodent poisons [5].– The complete loss of bobcats from many open space areas in the Conejo Valley due to increased vulnerability to the deadly disease mange, caused by exposure to rodent poisons [5].– Survival rate (percentage that live from one year to the next) plunged from 77% to a low of 23% in 2004. The reduced population’s survival rate has recovered somewhat to 58% [5].– In a study of 195 bobcat blood samples in five southern California counties, the 1st generation anticoagulant diphacinone was found in 77% of the bobcats in which anticoagulants were detected. This emphasizes that the 1st generation anticoagulants are also doing tremendous harm, not just the more widely restricted 2nd generation poisons. See www.urbancarnivores.com/laurels-blog.

Mountain Lions

– Three studies:

Of 104 mountain lions tested California-wide from 2005 to 2011, 82 contained rodent poisons, with 78% containing more than one kind [6].A follow-up study in 2016 documented 95% of 111 mountain lions in 37 counties were exposed in one year.

Of 28 mountain lions found in eight California counties that were tested between 1997 and 2011, 100% tested positive for at least one of the 2nd generation rodent poisons, 96% tested positive for brodifacoum, 93% tested positive for bromadiolone, 39% tested positive for difethialone and 61% tested positive for the 1st generation rodent poisons diphacinone[7].Note that this 1st generation anticoagulant is doing tremendous harm also, not just the more restricted 2nd generation anticoagulants.

14 out of 14 mountain lions tested by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife in 2012 had rodent poisons [3].

– 2 Simi Valley mountain lions (P3 and P4) were documented to have died directly from rodent poison exposure.– October 2012 a young female mountain lion (P25) was found dead by hikers with rodent poisons in her system in Point Mugu State Park, Malibu.– September 2015 P-34 died in Point Mugu State Park, Malibu, from five different anticoagulant poisons.– October 2017 P-41 in the Verdugo Hills was found dead with six different anticoagulant poisons.

Raptors

– A Department of Fish and Wildlife study stated “as of 2010, 92% of raptors (owls and hawks) collected in San Diego County and 79% collected in the Central Valley contained anticoagulant rodenticides” [8]

Fishers– 85% found exposed to rodent poisons of 101 studied for exposure [9]. Fishers are cat-sized weasel-type carnivores that live in the rugged portions of the southern Sierra Nevada and are candidates for listing under the Endangered Species Act.

San Joaquin Kit Foxes

– 74% of 68 foxes sampled of this endangered variety studied near Bakersfield, California were exposed to anticoagulant poisons [12]. This subspecies is listed as Federal Endangered and California Threatened, primarily due to profound habitat loss and degradation throughout its range.

• National Park Service summary letter

Here is a letter from the National Park Service dated July 8, 2013 in support of the Malibu anti-rodent poison Resolution –NPS Letter to Malibu. It summarizes the situation, including the statement – “Our research suggests an interaction between anti-coagulant rodenticide exposure and death from mange and mange deaths resulting in the complete loss of bobcats from many open space areas in the Conejo Valley.“

• No Safe Poisons – Children & Pets

Current studies have proven that there are no safe poisons that can be used around wildlife, pets, and children. Approximately 10,000 children a yearare accidentally exposed to mouse and rat baits, as graphically described inthis Scientific American article. Ten rodent poisons have been identified by the US EPA as being particularly dangerous – Brodifacoum, Bromadiolone, Bromethalin, Chlorophacinone, Cholecalciferol, Difenacoum, Difethialone, Diphacinone, Warfarin, and Zinc Phosphide. They are specifically referenced in the US EPA document “Risk Mitigation Decision for Ten Rodenticides, May 28, 2008 (revised June 24, 2008)”. These and all other rodent poisons should be abandoned for rodent control in California.

– How to identify anticoagulant rodent poisons

A detailed 10-page summary of rodent poison types is here:Poison Types Summary.It includes anticoagulants and non-anticoagulants.

First, please read the section in Laurel’s Urban Carnivores website No Poison Is A Good Poison(near the center of the long page). There is no poison that does not present a risk to wildlife, pets, and humans. At present, the strongest documented data points to anticoagulant rodent poisons as being the most damaging to wildlife.

There are two categories of anticoagulants. LOOK AT THE PRODUCT LABEL to determine the type of poison.1)Second generation. Products that have any of the following active ingredients are in this category: brodifacoum, bromadiolone, difethialone, and difenacoum. These are the most advanced, and dangerous, poisons. They are banned for consumer use in the United States, but are VERY commonly used by the professional pest control companies.2)First generation. Most common active ingredients are diphacinone, chlorophacinone, and warfarin. These are less potent, BUT —

– 1st Generation Anticoagulant Rodent Poisons are not the solution!

2nd generation anticoagulants get most of the bad publicity and blame for poisoning wildlife, but recent research suggests that 1st generation anticoagulants (diphacinone, chlorophacinone and others) are no better. Here is a handout we made summarizing the evidence concerning the far more abundant 1st generation anticoagulants.

• We’ve got to get rid of these – poison bait boxes!

Please help stop the use of poisons to control rodents and to prevent these poisons from killing other species that feed on them. The first step is to identify the poison bait boxes where the rodents load up on poisons and then leave, initiating the Chain of Death. Please see this TV news story to see the bait boxes at their worst.

Professional Help

For professional help, hire a rodent exclusion/proofing company instead of a conventional poison-supplying pest control company. They SOLVE the problem by removing the causes and entryways, with guarantees, not set you up for a monthly bill to re-supply unnecessary poisons. Examples in southern California (rodent clean-up and exclusion only):

• Local Poison Free Businesses

Our educational campaign resulted in Malibu merchants removing all rodent poison products from their shelves. There had been six – Ralphs, CVS Pharmacy, Pavilions, Malibu Hardware, A&B Plumbing, and Malibu Ranch Market. Ralphs, RiteAid, and Albertsons in Calabasas; and Agoura Feed and Roadside Lumber in Agoura Hills have also enthusiastically removed their poison products.Please THANK these local merchants!

We would also very much like to recognize the following local Malibu businesses that do not use poisons, but instead use careful sanitation practices.THIS IS THE PROOF THAT POISONS ARE NOT THE WAY TO GO BECAUSE …They have no exposed garbage, no rodent problem, and no poisons!Please patronize and thank them!We also have noticed that businesses that do not clean up their garbage STILL HAVE RODENTS, NO MATTER HOW MUCH POISON THEY USE!

• Where to discard rodent poisons

Rodent poisons CANNOT go into ordinary trash pickup, or even some of the “hazardous household waste” events in many cities. They must be taken to special Collection Centers at specific days and times. In Los Angeles City and County, these Centers can be found atwww.lacitysan.org/solid_resources/special/hhw/safe_centers/

California Department of Pesticide Regulation videos:Excellent series of YouTube videos on what to do to control rodents. It is specifically for schools, but the strategies are the same for anyone —Integrated Pest Management for Schools.

• Owls

– Great place to get owl boxes, installation, and knowledgeable people, in Sherman Oaks:Wild Wings LA–This is a company that sells and delivers owl boxes and raptor perches:Wild Wing Company
– The Citizens for Los Angeles Wildlife is promoting an owl box program in the city of Los Angeles. See thislink.
– Buying Barn Owl boxes, and a lot of information about them: www.barnowlbox.comandwww.naturesremedy.co– Barn Owls as a means of rodent controls:www.hungryowl.org– How to build your own Barn Owl Box: BuildingBarnOwlBoxesHints from Ventura County Water Protection District and Ojai Raptor Center:1) Several small holes should be drilled near the tops of the sides of the owl box to prevent overheating.2) In areas with no shade, a second roof about 1.5 inches above the regular roof is a good idea for the same reason.3) To prevent occupancy of owl boxes by bees, dust the inside with diatomaceous earth. The bees don’t like this fine white powder. In fact, it is used to repel many insects.– How to build your own Raptor Perch, from the Ventura County Water Protection District: Raptor Perch Design VCWPD 6-26-18

– Ventura County Raptor Study – RAPTORS are MORE EFFECTIVE THAN POISONS for limiting rodent damage to dikes, dams, and levees. Flood control is very important in Ventura County. They must prevent burrowing rodents from damaging water flow structures. They did a careful study and now will the County will be removing poison bait stations and replacing with owl boxes and raptor perches.

Barn Owls are declining because of habitat loss and rodent poisoning. This Barn Owl could hear my heart beating.

The Barn Owl has excellent low-light vision, but its ability to locate prey by sound alone is the best of any animal that has ever been tested. It can catch mice in complete darkness in the lab, or hidden by vegetation or snow out in the real world.

A barn owl will eat at least 10,000 rodents a year. For every owl that dies prematurely from poisoned rodents, 10,000 extra rodents are free to multiply.

If we don’t want the rat population to explode we must STOP USING RAT POISONS. All poisons kill the predators as well as the “so called pest.” In the long run your problem becomes harder to manage. The food chain if allowed to thrive will keep the balance. As we always say, “No Poison Is Safe.”

Our Informational Pamphlet and others from Cities:

Poison Free Malibu’s pamphlet:

And this one is from the city of Malibu Environmental Sustainability Department –

– Project Coyote

Project Coyote is a national non-profit organization based in Northern California whose mission is to promote compassionate conservation and coexistence between people and wildlife through education, science and advocacy. –projectcoyote.org

– California Wildlife Center

The CWC takes responsibility for the protection of all native wildlife through rehabilitation, education and conservation. –cawildlife.org

– Santa Monica Mountains Fund

Protecting the Santa Monica Mountains and the wondrous species that call it home. –samofund.org

– Las Virgenes Homeowners Federation

The voice and conscience of the Santa Monica Mountains since 1968 –lvhf.org

– Wildcare of SoCal

Through the efforts of concerned and caring humans, many animals can be rehabilitated. Wildlife Care of SoCal is a group of volunteers dedicated to helping individual wild animals in need. –wildcareofventura.org

– Sierra Club San Fernando Valley

– National Parks Conservation Association

The mission of the National Parks Conservation Association is to protect and enhance America’s National Parks for present and future generations – www.npca.org

– Topanga Creek Watershed Committee

The mission of theTCWCis to preserve, protect and improve the health and well-being of the Topanga Creek Watershed by educating stakeholders to act in support of this valuable and fragile ecosystem. We actively promote non-toxic and bio-friendly solutions to environmental issues, and oppose the use of herbicides and pesticides.

• Recent Laws and Regulations Restricting Rodent Poisons

• “State Preemption Law – The battle for local control of democracy”Why can’t any city or county control the use of rodent poisons or other pesticides? We get asked this all the time. This article explains how the agriculture and pest control industries put through a law preventing local cities and counties from regulating pesticides. It all started when Mendocino County tried to protect their children from being sprayed with herbicides. The agriculture and pest control industries fought Mendocino County all the way to the California Supreme Court and they LOST! So then their lobbyists went to the California Legislature and had a special law, called “Preemption” passed to take away the ability of local jurisdictions to control pesticides!https://www.beyondpesticides.org/assets/media/documents/lawn/activist/documents/StatePreemption.pdfHere is what you can do to counter preemption in your state: – midwestpesticideaction.org/repeal-pesticide-preemption

We were delighted in September 2018 that the League of California Cities, the lobbying group for all the cities in California, passed a Resolution proposed by the city of Malibu to reverse preemption as it pertains to anticoagulant rodent poisons! It was just one of two Resolutions passed at its annual meeting. See Resolution 2 here – League of California Cities 2018 Resolutions. We will be working with the League to implement this with legislation.

• California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR)New rules banning 2nd gen anticoagulants from consumers use – July 1, 2014.Here is the official CDPR website stating and explaining the new July 1, 2014 regulations banning consumer use of 2nd generation anticoagulant rodent poisons. Includes technical arguments supporting the rule change in the document “Initial Statement of Reasons” and responses to public comment in “Attachment A” of Final Statement of Reasons.www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/legbills/rulepkgs/13-002/13-002.htm

In November of 2018, the CDPR determined that these regulations were insufficient. No improvement in the rate of wildlife poisoning had been detected in the four years since the ban went into effect. The problem clearly was that commercial pest control operators had been exempted and could still use the 2nd generation poisons. A new reevaluation process in now in progress, see CDPR New Reevaluation.

• New Santa Monica Mountains Local Coastal Plan banning all anticoagulant rodent poisons – October 10, 2014.Former Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky spearheaded a major revision of the development regulations for the unincorporated areas of the Santa Monica Mountains within the Coastal Zone boundary. See a map for where it applieshere. One of its clauses reads –

“The use of insecticides, herbicides, anti-coagulant rodenticides, or any toxic chemical substance which has the potential to significantly degrade biological resources in the Santa Monica Mountains, shall be prohibited, except where necessary to protect or enhance the habitat itself …”

• California Assembly Bill AB 2657 – September 10, 2014State Assemblyman Richard Bloom successfully put through a law signed by the Governor on September 19, 2014. It bans the use of 2nd generation anticoagulant rodent poisons on state wildlife habitat areas, meaning state parks, wildlife refuges, and conservancies. The official bill can be found here –leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB2657

– “Silent Spring Revisited”Article from the Kansas Audubon Society illustrating how the process of collusion among the rodent poison chemical companies, academic researchers, and the EPA allow clearly damaging poisons to be applied for short term financial benefit.silent-spring-prairie-wings

• Technical and Academic Articles

1) California Department of Pesticide Regulation on their new rules to ban consumer use of 2nd generation anticoagulant rodent poisons.BEST SINGLE SUMMARY and review of the latest data on the damage to wildlife in California. June 27, 2013 memorandum from Deborah Daniels, Senior Environmental Scientist to Ann Prichard, Chief, Pesticide Registration Branch, both of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation.

2) These are two long technical reports from a scientific panel reporting to the US Environmental Protection Agency. There is a lot of information not found easily elsewhere. In particular they discuss several different kinds of rodentpoisons, including first generation anticoagulants, second generation, and non-anticoagulants such as bromethalin and strychnine.EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0718-0086SAP EPA response-2013-0049-0002

13) Ceballos, G., et al, “Accelerated modern human–induced species losses: Entering the sixth mass extinction.” Science Advances 19 Jun 2015: Vol. 1, no. 5, e1400253, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1400253. ” … the number of species that have gone extinct in the last century would have taken, depending on the vertebrate taxon, between 800 and 10,000 years to disappear. These estimates reveal an exceptionally rapid loss of biodiversity over the last few centuries, indicating that a sixth mass extinction is already under way.” — From the Abstract.

14) Pope Francis,ENCYCLICAL LETTER LAUDATO SI’ OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS ON CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME. “The destruction of the human environment is extremely serious, not only because God has entrusted the world to us men and women, but because human life is itself a gift which must be defended from various forms of debasement.” — One of many quotes beautifully describing the crisis we are in regarding climate change and our relationship to the Earth.

Closed trash containers and dumpsters SOLVES the problem. Rats and mice have nothing to eat. This is how mouse and rat problems are stopped.

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12 thoughts on “Home Page”

I work on a small military base in the Inland Empire and am trying to convince authorities here to stop poisoning the ground squirrels. Does your organization provide direct assistance in situations like this?

Hi Brooke,
Disappointing. It is one of the standard anticoagulants – diphacinone.http://www.motomco.com/pcq.html
How are they using it? In the bait boxes? Or just put into holes? Or in the ground?
Diphacinone is a major poisoner of bobcats, mountain lions, and whoever else eats the squirrels or other rodents. It was found to be poisoning Griffith Park mountain lion P-22 (who was rescued) and contributed to the deaths of P-34 in Newbury Park and P-41 in the Verdugo Hills. Dogs are also a major victim, as they gobble it up.
Please see other parts of our website that mention diphacinone.
The Conejo Valley Park District uses NO anticoagulants and Simi Valley should do the same.
Please email us at PoisonFreeMalibu@gmail.com if you learn more.

I’ve used it before when I was working for pest control company. I would consider it the same as rat poison. PCQ doesn’t brake down as simple as they claim. Plus it very poisonous ☠️ to anyone in contact with the product.

Hi Mark,
Thanks for the note. Where are you? Malibu?
Amazing that the guy admitted that he was not licensed. That is a huge no-no.
It is not the city’s direct responsibility, although they should direct you to the proper office.
The place to report this is the Los Angeles County Agriculture Commission. They oversee pest control operators.
See https://acwm.lacounty.gov/pest-control-operators/ and contacts at https://acwm.lacounty.gov/contact-us/

The other alternative is the California Department of Pesticide Regulation https://www.pestboard.ca.gov/. They are the ultimate governing body. See the Enforcement/Complaint phone number there – 916-561-8708.

We would very much like to know what you find out. Please let us know.

Hi Mary, This very much depends on where you are and your local government. Here in Los Angeles County rat poison is the most hazardous of the hazardous waste. There are a small number of places it most be brought to. Please call or email your city or county government office to ask them. Definitely do not put it in normal trash!